page_title: Gay icon
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Gay icon / Modern / Politics
caption_attribution_description: From Baltimore M.D. 2002
context_page_description: A gay icon is a public figure who is highly regarded and beloved by the LGBT community. A gay icon can either be a part of the LGBT community or heterosexual, but heterosexual gay icons are often highly supportive of their fans within the community and the rights of LGBT people. Organizations such as GLAAD routinely recognize public figures for their contributions and support for the LGBT community. Gay icons exist across cultures, most prominently in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
  Many gay icons are celebrities in the entertainment industry, but can also include figures in politics, history, sports, literature, and other mediums. Prominent entertainers considered to be gay icons often incorporate themes of acceptance, self-love, and sexuality in their work. Gay icons of all orientations have acknowledged the role that their gay fans have played in their success, including Lady Gaga, Bette Midler, Cher, Diana Ross, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, Spice Girls, Charli XCX, Britney Spears, Cheryl, Marina Diamandis, Christina Aguilera and Lana Del Rey.
context_section_description: In the political arena, gay icons are represented by, among others, Diana, Princess of Wales, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Manvendra Singh Gohil, Sheila Kuehl, Pedro Zerolo, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel, Bayard Rustin, Kim Coco Iwamoto, Brian Sims, Dianne Feinstein, Evan Low, Alex Greenwich, Mark Takano, Cate McGregor, George Moscone, Pamela K. Chen Coretta Scott King, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Christopher Cabaldon, Barney Frank, Sunil Babu Pant, Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Eva Perón, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the first openly lesbian head of government of the modern era. Roger Casement, an Irish civil rights activist, became a gay icon of the early 20th century. Civil rights activist Coretta Scott King was held in high regard among members of the gay community for her involvement in the Gay Rights Movement. During her lifetime, she routinely equated the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, led by her late husband Martin Luther King Jr., with that of LGBT activism.
  I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.
  — Coretta Scott King, Metro Weekly
  San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to office in the U.S. and spearheaded the defeat of statewide anti-gay ballot measure Proposition 6 in California in 1978. While he and Moscone were assassinated shortly thereafter, both became viewed as martyrs for gay rights. Milk's image as a positive role model led to him becoming the namesake for the first high school designed primarily for gay teenagers, the Harvey Milk High School, in the East Village of New York City. The portrayal of those efforts in the critically acclaimed film Milk earned Sean Penn an Oscar and comparisons to the contemporary battle over the anti-gay ballot initiative Proposition 8 raging in California at the time of the film's release in 2008.
caption: Civil rights activist Coretta Scott King
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